Brave
by brahdley jims
Summary: She just wishes he'd be brave enough to come right out and say it. Oneshot.


**AN: This is a short oneshot I wrote about a month ago for a challenge, but I never posted it... I just came across it today and thought, 'Oh, might as well post this!' I dusted it off a bit and here it is. **

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><p><em>'I think I should know how<em>

_To make love to something innocent_

_Without leaving my fingerprints out, now_

_L-O-V-E's just another word_

_I'll never learn to pronounce.'_

"You're impossible, Scorpius Malfoy," Rose announced, a reluctant laugh in her voice. "Impossible."

"And how is that, may I ask, Miss Weasley?" the blonde Slytherin walking beside her asked, a smirk tugging at his lips. They were walking to the library after finishing an early dinner.

Rose rolled her eyes. "You know how. You dumped Vanessa Brown only this morning and you've just picked up her younger sister!"

"Andrea's only a year younger than us,' Scorpius pointed out.

"Not the point!" Rose exclaimed exasperatedly. "You go through girls like girls go through clothes."

"Is that a bad thing?" Scorpius asked, quirking an eyebrow. He knew what her answer was going to be.

"Yes!" Rose threw her hands up in the air, making Scorpius smirk properly now. He loved seeing her like this. "Honestly, I don't know why I bother. You must have dated half the female population of Hogwarts by now."

"Not quite," Scorpius said. "I've yet to get started on the third years –"

Rose punched him. Hard. "You disgusting pervert!" she accused.

"Hey, I didn't mean anything by it!" the Slytherin insisted, rubbing his arm. "Ow, Rose – that _hurt._"

"Good," she replied stubbornly.

They walked on in silence until they reached the library. Picking their usual table in the corner, Rose got out her History of Magic homework and started work.

"What do you see in her anyway?" the redhead asked, head bent over the parchment. "Andrea's just like Vanessa."

"Exactly," Scorpius said. "They're both damn good kissers, have curves in all the right places and are too dumb to pick up when I'm cheating on them."

"You're foul, Malfoy."

"Thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment."

"I know."

Even though he couldn't see her face, Scorpius knew Rose was rolling her eyes.

"If you don't stop doing that, your eyes will roll into the back of your head and get stuck there."

"Shut up, Malfoy."

"No thanks. I thought I might keep talking about my numerous girlfriends."

"Please don't."

"Fine, I'll daydream about them instead."

"Great, but please spare me the details. I'm too young to be scarred for life."

Ten minutes passed in silence, the only sound being that of Rose's quill scratching against the parchment and the shuffling around the bookshelves they knew to be Madame Pince, checking they weren't throwing books into a bonfire or something.

"Why are you staring at me, Scorpius?" Rose had glanced up. Scorpius cursed inwardly and averted his eyes.

"I wasn't staring," he said.

"You've been staring at me for the past ten minutes," Rose said. "It's quite off-putting, actually, so if you wouldn't mind stopping, that would be great."

"I wasn't staring at you, Rose. You're flattering yourself too much. Bushy hair, spotty skin – what is there to stare at?" Scorpius knew he'd gone too far, but he couldn't snatch the words back now.

"Then why don't you go have fun with that slut Andrea and her lovely straight hair and perfect skin?" Rose snapped. The words fell out before she knew she was saying them.

Scorpius mumbled something.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Rose asked, clearly faking pleasantness.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"Well," Rose breathed, eyes flashing dangerously. He couldn't even look her in the eye and say that. Maybe he was put off by her _spotty skin. _"There's a first time for everything, isn't there?"

"Look, I don't want to go hang out with Andrea, because I want to stay here with you," Scorpius said, finally looking in her eyes. "I prefer you to Andrea any day."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rose questioned, her heart missing a beat. She couldn't take her eyes off him.

Scorpius lowered his voice, leaning forward. "That I think you're much more beau-" He stopped. Rose felt her heart sink to the core of the earth. "Intelligent than her," he made up on the spot. _Crap, Scorpius. Blown it again._

"Well," Rose whispered, trying her best to smile. It came out as more of a tortured grimace. "We always knew that, didn't we?" _Get over it, Rose. He's never going to say it. Never._

Scorpius flashed her a brief, fake grin. "Yeah. Er – maybe I will go meet Andrea. I'll see you later." He grabbed his school bag, slung it over his shoulder and scrambled up, almost knocking the table and Rose's homework over onto the floor in his haste. He didn't look back as he left.

Rose watched him leave, and dropped her head into her hands when he'd gone. Who was she kidding, thinking he was going to call her beautiful? She wasn't beautiful. Not next to Andrea Bimbo Brown.

And yet Rose knew there was something there. She knew Scorpius loved her like she loved him. But he wasn't brave enough to admit it. And he never would be.

_'How do I say I'm sorry_

'_Cause the word is _

_Never gonna come out, now_

_L-O-V-E's just another word_

_I'll never learn to pronounce.'_

**- 'Starstrukk', 3OH!3**

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><p>please <span>review<span> :)


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